Kamiak Butte VR

App Development

My Role

Kamiak Butte VR is an interactive educational project I started during my undergraduate and graduate studies at Washington State University. It was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to distance learning. The project allows students to virtually explore and learn about Kamiak Butte County Park in a 360° view. I used various software tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Maya, Unity, and 3DVista to develop the program, incorporating student feedback to continually improve it.

Working with a diverse team of professors and students, we secured two technology grants and raised $44,550 to further enhance Kamiak Butte VR. The software has been successfully integrated into the Natural Resource Ecology course curriculum for six semesters, benefiting over 500 students, and it continues to be used alongside the physical field trip to Kamiak Butte.

Project Type

Master’s Thesis Work

Deliverables

VR Application, WebGL App

Tools Used

Adobe Photoshop, Unity, 3D Maya, Figma, Adobe Premire Pro, Adobe Illastrator

Itartiatve Design Driven by Research

My master’s thesis focused on the use of the Kamiak Butte VR alongside the physical field trip in the Natural Resource Ecology course.

The results from the research study showed students valued the hybrid field trip and believed the activities supported their ability to learn about the ecology at Kamiak Butte.

I also collected data on students’ use of the software which helped me further develop the product for students.

User Interface Design

"I really liked it, it was easy to use and interesting to work. I would recommend at the start with the options menu if under each option such as under 'wildlife' it could say what is contained within it, such as 'white-tailed deer' etc to save time trying to find what you are looking for, other than that a really fun, interactive site."

Fall 2021 Student

Developed & Curated E-Learning Content with User Input

My master’s thesis focused on the use of the Kamiak Butte VR alongside the physical field trip in the Natural Resource Ecology course.

The results from the research study showed students valued the hybrid field trip and believed the activities supported their ability to learn about the ecology at Kamiak Butte.

I also collected data on students’ use of the software which helped me further develop the product for students.

"I really liked it, it was easy to use and interesting to work. I would recommend at the start with the options menu if under each option such as under 'wildlife' it could say what is contained within it, such as 'white-tailed deer' etc to save time trying to find what you are looking for, other than that a really fun, interactive site."

Fall 2021 Student

UI Labels & Interactions Improvements

My master’s thesis focused on the use of the Kamiak Butte VR alongside the physical field trip in the Natural Resource Ecology course.

The results from the research study showed students valued the hybrid field trip and believed the activities supported their ability to learn about the ecology at Kamiak Butte.

I also collected data on students’ use of the software which helped me further develop the product for students.

"I really liked it, it was easy to use and interesting to work. I would recommend at the start with the options menu if under each option such as under 'wildlife' it could say what is contained within it, such as 'white-tailed deer' etc to save time trying to find what you are looking for, other than that a really fun, interactive site."

Fall 2021 Student

Prototyping Real World UI

My master’s thesis focused on the use of the Kamiak Butte VR alongside the physical field trip in the Natural Resource Ecology course.

The results from the research study showed students valued the hybrid field trip and believed the activities supported their ability to learn about the ecology at Kamiak Butte.

I also collected data on students’ use of the software which helped me further develop the product for students.

"I really liked it, it was easy to use and interesting to work. I would recommend at the start with the options menu if under each option such as under 'wildlife' it could say what is contained within it, such as 'white-tailed deer' etc to save time trying to find what you are looking for, other than that a really fun, interactive site."

Fall 2021 Student

Information Architecture & Level Design

Information Architecture was edited to better reflect the brand and offer visitors more to interact with on the site.

"I really liked it, it was easy to use and interesting to work. I would recommend at the start with the options menu if under each option such as under 'wildlife' it could say what is contained within it, such as 'white-tailed deer' etc to save time trying to find what you are looking for, other than that a really fun, interactive site."

Fall 2021 Student

Anthropogenic Influence

Chief Kamiakin, Early Observations, Indigenous People, Ski Area, Time Line, Whitman County Parks & Rec, Wildfire

Birds

Clark’s Nutcracker, Hairy Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Harrier, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Spotted Tawhee, Vesper Sparrow, Western Red-tailed Hawk

Geologic Foundations

Quartzite

Insects

Ashy Digger Bee, Bicolored Carpenter Ant, Crackling Forest Grasshopper, Seven-spotted Lady Beetle, Variegated Meadowhawk

Seasonal Change

North Aspect, South Aspect

Tree Species

Douglas-fir, Ponderosa Pine, Norway Maple, Western Larch, Variable Radius Plot Sample

Understory Species

North

Baldhip Rose, Ghost Pipe, Glacier Lily, Heartleaf Arnica, Longlead Fleabane, Mallow-leaf Ninebark, Ocean Spray, Tall Ragwort

South

Acute Paintbrush, Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Grasswidow, Hairy Vetch, Large-flower Clarkia, Scarlet Gilia, Upland Larkspur, Western Blue Flag

Wildlife Populations

Red Fox, Coyote, Merriam’s Wild Turkey, Rocky Mountain Elk, Shirasi Moose, Mule Deer, North American Porcupine, White-tailed Deer,

Collaberative Effort

Received an award from the Digital Technology and Culture Program for the Seattle Pops website redesign project, which recognizes students who explores the principles of web design, coding, information architecture, and usability in a global cultural context.

Award Winning Design

Received an award from the Digital Technology and Culture Program for the Seattle Pops website redesign project, which recognizes students who explores the principles of web design, coding, information architecture, and usability in a global cultural context.

Distinguished Scholar 2020-2021

Results

The owner of Seattle Pops loved the website redesign and implemented my website design into their own hosting service.

After I completed the project, the Digital Technology and Culture program at WSU gave me the Excellence in Interactive Technology and Development award for my project with Seattle Pops. Watch the award video on this page to learn more about the project and award.

Along with the award, the DTC Department at WSU also wrote an article on their website that showcased my work with Seattle Pops. Click here to read the article.